Reflection

    After taking the time to reflect on my learning so far in this course, I have realized that the material I have learned, as of now, has not only helped me better understand the material I am currently learning in biochemistry, in relation to metabolism, but it has also helped me further understand the material from previous biology courses, as well. At the beginning of the course, I had a difficult time understanding the relevance cell and molecular biology had with my future career goal of a psychiatrist PA. After dwelling on that thought for a few days, I came across an article that helped me answer that question. The article spoke about how recombinant DNA technology has been rapidly developing over the past decade and how recombinant DNA methods have been being used to construct a linkage map of the human genome that will potentially allow the mapping of the loci of inherited psychiatric disorders and diseases, which can lead to the discovery of new treatments helping millions of people.

    Not only have I reflected on my learning but also on my learning process. I have always considered myself to be a visual learner, but while I am still a very visual learner, I have also learned that I tend to be a productive learner when formulating stories, and analogies, and connecting the information to images or objects; this has been shown to help not only my memory but my understanding as well. Throughout my time as a student, I have tried many different learning styles and techniques, some work and some do not, but I am always willing to try new things given that my learning can sometimes be time-consuming. While I am still in the process of trying to find a productive and helpful technique for me to study for this course, I can say that I have learned and made sense of a lot so far. The most important thing I have learned is the in-depth processes and explanation of protein synthesis. Protein synthesis was first introduced to me during my freshman year of college, but while I knew what it was, I had not thoroughly learned it the way I have in this course. These processes are important because it is the base of it all, in my opinion. Proteins are a crucial component of every cell in the body and contain many functions. To me, thoroughly understanding those processes has allowed further information to begin to make sense. Although, something that is confusing to me is the newly introduced topic of protein sorting and transport; therefore, something that could be done to clarify this topic a little bit more is to make it as hands-on as possible, such as building it in class, drawing it, creating a story out of it, etc. 

    Overall, this course has changed my perspective and understanding of biology, as a whole. It has led me to become more interested in health/science-related articles instead of running in the opposite direction; this course has also made me more curious to learn about health issues and viruses that are out in the world. Honestly, at first, I was slightly frightened to start taking this course due to its reputation of being very difficult, and while it is a difficult course, and honestly I am still trying to figure out how to manage it, this class has made me want to learn more because, at the end of the day, I have been pursuing a biology degree for almost 4 years now; therefore I want to graduate knowing that I fully learned everything I needed to know in order for me to confidently move onto the next step forwards my career.